O’Driscoll Thanks Ireland Supporters

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has thanked the Ireland fans for their support throughout the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

In the final entry of his Rugby World Cup Diary, Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has spoken about the pain of being knocked out of the World Cup before the quarter-finals and has thanked all the fans for their support throughout the tournament.

Thousands of Irish Rugby Supporters Club members and  Ireland fans from all over the world sent messages of support to the team using the IrishRugby.ie/ O₂ message website. The messages were relayed to the team room in team’s hotel(s) and displayed on screen from the squad to see during the tournament.

Writing today in his last Rugby World Cup Diary, O’Driscoll said: “I suppose my overwhelming feeling is one of massive disappointment. I can fully appreciate the supporters’ disappointment, but I just want to make it clear, the players are gutted.”

On Ireland’s overall performance, the skipper added: “I don’t think there is a single individual within the squad that could say he played up to the requisite standard. We needed everyone firing and that didn’t happen; not even close. We set ourselves high standards as a team but individually we didn’t meet them and therefore we underachieved hugely.”

In a final message for the loyal fans who followed Ireland from Bordeaux to Paris, who sent messages of support and cheered them on from back home, O’Driscoll said: “In terms of the support we have received from the Irish fans, I couldn’t be more complimentary. They endured their disappointments and to a person we’re appreciative of that support and would like to have acquitted ourselves better. We didn’t and have to deal with that as players.”

Brian O’Driscoll’s Rugby World Cup Diary